G Rough

To visit Rome is to walk among its ruins. Wander the city at night, the Colosseum lit up, pillars from the Forum still standing, just, as traffic grinds slowly by. We arrived in the city after spending New Year’s Eve on Capri, then the first fragile days of January amid the tourists in Naples, before our journey led us onward to Florence. Each city has its own unique relationship to the past. In Naples, ancient ruins have been buried by history; Florence, meanwhile, has become a museum (or a museum gift shop). In Rome, the past walks with you around every corner.

Something of this is evoked by G Rough, a bijou 10-suite hotel located just a few cobbled streets from the baroque statuary of Piazza Navona. Despite sounding like a designer diffusion line of distressed workwear, the hotel gracefully achieves that tricky balance between celebrating the past while remaining confidently contemporary. Housed in a 17th-century former palazzo owned by Gabriele Salini – hence the ‘G’ of G Rough – the hotel has been conceived to retain traces of its past: terracotta tiles on the ground floor, exposed wooden ceilings, and walls half-stripped to reveal layer upon layer of antique paintwork – stretching, in some cases, right back to the very beginning of the building. In the bedroom of our suite, the result is a textured patina of alabaster and duck-egg blue, with a barely-there line of dusty rose ringing the room at shin level. It really is exquisite, and perfectly complemented by the work of contemporary Italian artist Antonello Viola. A large abstract canvas hangs by the bed, two smaller works above the desk in our little sitting room.

Art is a defining feature of G Rough – not only in the form of well-chosen contemporary pieces placed within rooms, but also as a key component of the hotel’s history and ethos. Every room contains an artists’ guide to Rome, full of quirky, insider tips that make you feel like a local. On arrival, we’re told that, as part of the transition from private residence to boutique hotel, Salini and his late business partner Emanuele Garosci (who together conceived Venetian sister property PalazzinaG) threw a party and invited artists to come and make work throughout the building. Some of these pieces remain: there’s a cluster of figures drawn directly onto the walls behind our bed, while black-and-white crescents adorn the opposite wall; ephemeral works – installations and performances – have been photographed and reproduced in a handsome book available in the lobby.

G Rough is a beautiful place in which to spend time. The public spaces are small but thoughtfully laid-out. You enter by the bar area, the breakfast room is through the back, and between the two is a small desk area for settling bills and chatting to the staff. Bronze-tinted Seletti mirror tiles have been liberally used to create not only space but also a sense of glamour, as light bounces off the bevels. Every room showcases carefully chosen pieces of 20th-century furniture: examples of the best in Italian design but styled in contemporary fashion: an elegant green wardrobe by Guglielmo Ulrich, a stone-topped coffee table by Ico Parisi, or an amusing 1930s art deco lamp complete with diving figurine. Suites are named after famous Italian designers (my one gripe: only men get a nod).

A Latin inscription on the exterior of the building reads Satis ampla quae securitate rideat – which seems to translate (my Latin’s a little hazy) as ‘Large enough to laugh in safety’. G Rough is certainly a fun place to be, but it’s also small enough to provide a highly personal service. Staff are friendly, helpful and knowledgeable – only too happy to recommend things to do, eat, buy or see. Of course, I travel with Mrs Smith, the finest 24-hour concierge service known to science. So instead of queueing with the crowds at the Vatican, or tossing coins at an imaginary Anita Ekberg in the Trevi fountain, we take a tram to the Fascist show town of EUR, on the outskirts of Rome, where the incredible Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana (a kind of square Colosseum) is now Fendi’s headquarters.

That evening, we’re in the suburbs again for supper at L’Osteria di Monteverde: seven courses of delicate deliciousness in the unlikely surroundings of a basic neighbourhood eatery. The tasting menu was shot through with inventive flair and unexpected Asian influences, but the simple Italian classics still had Mrs Smith and myself gurgling with delight: spaghetti rich with kale-butter sauce, followed by the most divine tiramisu this side of paradiso. Back at G Rough, Stefano was especially impressed with our (ahem, Mrs Smith’s) local knowledge. ‘That is one of my favourite places,’ he grinned upon our return. ‘I love to recommend it to guests.’

For those after a more traditional Roman experience, G Rough is ideally located. The Pantheon is just a five-minute stroll away; the preposterously monumental Altare della Patria maybe a further 10. Ice cream fans should indulge themselves at Grom or Gelateria del Teatro. We sampled both – in the interests of objective research; naturally. Grom, Mrs Smith’s perennial favourite, just edged it. On our second night, we decided to take it easy. We picked up specialities – artichokes in oil, chilli-spiked aubergines, olives, burrata – from nearby deli Fiasconaro for a picnic on the bed back at G Rough. Luxury linen bedsheets strewn with focaccia crumbs: when in Rome…

Like some other new hotels – Ett Hem in Stockholm springs to mind – G Rough combines a design-led aesthetic with an atmosphere of cosy homeyness. The kitchen / breakfast room is like an open-plan apartment, for example. A cake is being baked there on our first morning and breakfast is served any time you want. In our experience, G Rough is the more successful. Firstly, a clearer distinction is made between what’s included and what isn’t, which means you needn’t worry that every cup of tea will be added to your bill. Secondly, G Rough’s staff are first-class, combining an authentic interest in your well-being with a sprinkling of Italian effusiveness. Stefano seemed genuinely delighted that we’d been to L’Osteria di Monteverdi; Franco came straight to our room when Mrs Smith had trouble with the TV – he even gave us the login to his family’s Netflix account. It’s touches like that which make a stay at G-Rough memorable. That, and watching Mean Girls in bed with a mouth full of burrata.